Roy Jones Jr. thinks he could have beaten Floyd Mayweather in his prime, but maybe not Manny Pacquiao

Roy Jones Jr. said on a radio show that he believes he could have beaten Floyd Mayweather Jr. if they fought, but he thinks he would have struggled against Manny Pacquiao.

“The young Roy Jones, Jr. would probably beat Floyd Mayweather, Jr., because basically Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and James Toney fight with the same style,” he said on DBoxing Source, according to Boxing Scene. “My style is a different style to theirs.”

“But when you come back and start talking about Manny Pacquiao, he’s a whole different animal. He’s a southpaw who throws bombs. You’ve got to survive his power first, then you deal with him. That’s still left to be seen. Of course with my size I’ll beat him, but if I was in his weight class, that would be a good fight to see.”

It’s surprising that Roy, who is cocky enough to believe he can still be a champion, would actually say another fighter would have given him problems. At least he’s humble enough to admit Pac Man would have been a challenge.

You won’t find someone who was a bigger fan of Roy in the ’90s than me, but I don’t think it’s a given he would have beaten Floyd. I think the two of them would have felt each other out plenty because they’re exceptionally quick. I think a fight between them would have ended in an extremely close decision. His point about Pacquiao is also an important one. Though Manny looked vulnerable against Juan Manuel Marquez, Roy’s quotes reinforce what is so important to recognize about fights: it’s all about styles.